Control for creeping traverse for rayon pot spinning machines



March 6, 1956 H w. KERNAN 2,737,352

CONTROL FOR CREEPING TRAVERSE FOR RAYON POT SPINNING MACHINES Filed Aug. 29, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 1 ATTORNEY VII/l/l/II/II 11 III March 6, 1956 w. KERNAN CONTROL FOR CREEPING TRAVERSE FOR RAYON POT SPINNING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29, 1951 L .m P

M mm m M m L m March 6, 1956 w. KERNAN 2,737,352

CONTROL FOR CREEPING TRAVERSE F OR RAYON POT SPINNING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 29 195] INVENTOR March 6, 1956 w. KERNAN CONTROL FOR CREEPING TRAVERSE FOR RAYON POT SPINNING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 29. 1951 m N H mm! m m m n V K N Dn .l. i 6A w I \W m l 0 TL \R mm "HI/M h Y 5 on Div-- hr mm United States Patent CONTROL FOR CREEPING TRAVERSE FOR RAYON POT SPINNING MACHINES- William' Kernan, Utica, N. Y'., assignor to Skeirandoa Rayon Corporation, Utica, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 29, 1951, Serial No. 244,219

5. Claims. (Cl. 242-433) This invention relates in general to improvementsin rayon pot spinning machines. More particularly this invention relates to improvements in the traverse mechanism of such machines. I

An object of this invention is to provide an improved traverse mechanism drive for machines of this type.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved traverse mechanism drive for machines of this type in which the stroke of the traverse mechanism is positively varied between predetermined values. II

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved traverse mechanism drive for machines of this type employing a creeping traverse wherein means is provided to prevent the eccentric of the creeping traverse from turning independently of the ratchet mechanism employed therewith. I

Still another object of this invention is. to provide a positive control to the creeping traverse mechanism drive employed in rayon pot spinning machines so as to produce cakes of improved quality. I

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawing.

This invention has, reference to the traverse mechanism drive for use. in rayon pot spinning machines, and provides, an, improved means for raising and lowering i. e., traversing, the tunnels which feed the yarn into the spin- Hing pots, thus providing a creeping. traverse, whereby better cakes or spools of yarn can. be built up in. the spinning pots thanwas heretofore possible. The cakes or spools made by machines of this invention have a more even density and thickness, with greater firmness and stability which ensure safe handling and improve subsequent processing.

According to this invention the traverse railsof a rayon pot. spinning machine are raised and lowered by mechani'sm comprising rocking traverse arms. which rockv on, a center progressively moved. in. an. orbit eccentric. to a fined center; This. movement. gradually raises and lowers the terminal; points I of each stroke of the traverse. The length: of the stroke of the traverse. rails and the setting of the. lowest. point. of thestroke are adjustable. A creeping. traverse characteristic is provided to the reciproeating. traverse mechanism to avoid overhang at the top and bottom of the. rayon cake as this cake is built up in the pot of the. spinning, machine. This: creeping traverse characteristic is. positively controlled through. the use of a brake mechanism to prevent the eccentric of the traverse drive from turning independently of the ratchet mechanism associated therewith. This control consists simply of a spring loaded brake that is applied, between the eccentric bushing and the ratchet. Further details of this invention will bemore fully setforth in. the fol- "ice Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation similar to that shown in Fig. l, with the drive elements associated with the traverse shown in a different portion of the cycle of operation;

Fig. 4' is a detail view of the brake mechanism. in side elevation;

I Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 6" is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 1 and; p I

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 77 of Fig. 5. I I

In the drawings there is shownmechanism'. which illustrates the invention as applied to conventionalpotvspinning machines, such as described and illustrated in the Rayon and. Staple Fiber Handbook. 3d edition (1939) by Mauersberger and Schwarz, pages -98. Only one section of the mechanism is described herein but the same mechanism is repeated at intervals throughout the length of the machine. The traverse rails are usually on both sides of the machine, and it is to such a machine that this invention is directed, though it can be adapted to. machines having traverse rails on one side. I

I The traverse, rails do not normally extend as one rail for the whole length of the machine, but are arranged end to end in bays or sections so. that any one v bay or section can be put out. of action, and can. be stopped without stopping the whole machine..

In the drawings the reference numeral-1,0 designates the frame of the machine and the traverse rails 11 are shownv attached to the ends of the rods 12 intermediate parts. of which are. broken away. I Mounted on the machine frame 10 and extendingfor the full length of the machine over the middle is a shaft 13, and below this is a second shaft 14 for each bay or section.

The shaft 13- is driven by the electric motor through the mechanism including a reduction gearing consisting of the gear 16 that is mounted on the shaft 13 and the pinion gear17 that is mounted on the shaft 18 which is journaledin suitable bearings 19 that are supported by'the frame 10.

The cam 20 which is provided with a heart-shaped race-wayZl is keyed to the shaft 13 and is rotatable therewith. A roller 22 that issupported by the pin 23 on; the arm 24 engages the race-way 21 of the cam 20. One end of the arm 24 is pivoted by the pivot 25 which is supported by the frame 10 in the slot 26. The pivot 25 may be; adiusted in this slot 26 so that the pivot point of. the arm 24 may be moved to a certain extent.

The, other end of the arm 24 is provided with a pivot 27 to; which isattached the arm 28. Attached to this arm 28 by means of a bolt 29 is a short arm 30 as shown in Fig; 5. The arm 28 is provided with a slot 31 and the arm 30' is provided with a slot 32 forthe purpose of receiving the bolt 29 so that the eifective lengths of these arms 28 and 30 may be adjusted. The plate 33. is formed integral with the arm 32. One face 34 of this plate 33 engages. one side of the brake lining- 35. The. other side of this brake lining 35 engages one side of the fiat ratchet wheel 36 that is keyed to the eccentric 37 by the key 3611.

I The eccentric 37 is provided witha hole extending longitudinally therethrough for the purpose of receiving the bronze bushing 38 which forms the bearing for the shaft 39,. This hole isdisplaced from the center of the member 37 as: shown in Fig. 7 in order to provide the desired displacementto this eccentric which will be.- described in further detail hereinafter. The eccentric 57 is journaled in the bearing 40 that is supported in the abutment 41 provided to the plate 33.

The ring 45 which is provided with a recess 46 for receiving one end of the spring 42, is arranged to abut the outer ends of the members 44) and 41. The other end of the spring 42 is lodged in the recess 44 that is provided to the nut 43 which is threaded to the eccentric 37. In this way the spring 42 is held concentric with the member 37 and provides a means of compression between the plate 33 and the ratchet 36. This compression may be adjusted by adjusting the nut 43 on the threaded portion of the eccentric 37 so that the freedom of rotation of the ratchet 36 with respect to the plate 33 may be readily controlled.

The shaft 39 is attached to a short plate 50 that is keyed thereto. This plate 50 is provided with an elongated protruding portion 51 partially surrounding the end portion of the shaft 39, for the purpose of engaging the arm 47 in the slot 48. The slot 48 is somewhat longer than the elongated portion 51 to provide slight adjustment with respect thereto. The shaft 39 is provided with a threaded portion which receives the nut 49 for holding the member 47 in tight engagement with the short plate 50 and with the shaft 39 when these elements are assembled.

The pawl 52 is pivoted to one end of the short plate 50 by the pivot 53. This pawl 52 is provided with a tooth 54 for the purpose of engaging the teeth of the ratchet 36 during the operation of this device. A surface 55 which cooperates with the adjustable cam 56 is provided to the pawl 52 so that the position in which the tooth 54 of the pawl will engage the ratchet 36 may be adjusted. The bolt 57 that is employed for supporting the cam 56 is also used for supporting the check pawl 58 that is also provided with a tooth 59 for engaging the ratchet 36.

The lower end of the arm 47 is keyed to the shaft 14 to which is also keyed the rocker 60. This rocker 60 is provided with pivots 61 and 62 at the ends thereof to which the upper ends of the traverse rods 12 are attached through suitable toggles 63 and 64.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: The motor driving this machine rotates the gear 16 which in turn rotates the cam 20 and the race-way 21 so that the upper end of the arm 24 is caused to swing or rotate through a small arc with respect to the pivot 25. This arm is shown almost at the limit of its upward swing in Fig. 1 and substantially at the limit of its lower swing in Fig. 3.

As the arm 24 is swung with respect to its pivot 25 the arm 28 is caused to swing slightly about its pivot 27. Starting from the upper limit of swing of the arm 24 as shown in Fig. 1 and proceeding to the lower limit of swing of this arm as shown in Fig. 3, it will be observed that at the beginning of this swing as shown in Fig. l the tooth of the pawl 52 does not engage the ratchet 36 because the surface 55 of this pawl is resting on the cam 56. However, as the downward swing of the arm 24 progresses, the tooth of the pawl 52 is lowered into engagement with the ratchet 36 and catches one of the teeth thereof thereby causing the ratchet 36 to rotate with respect to the arm 28 and plate 33 during the balance of the downward swing. This rotation of the ratchet 36 causes corresponding rotation of the eccentric 37 thereby changing the distance between the centers of the pivot points 27 and 39. The ratchet 36 is keyed by the key 36a to the eccentric 37 so that rotation of the ratchet 36 is transmitted to the eccentric 37.

During the upward swing of the arm 24 a small downward swing is imparted to the lever 28 about its pivot 27 and during this swing the pawl 58 engages the ratchet 36 to prevent counterclockwise rotation of this ratchet. From the foregoing description it will now be apparent that clockwise rotation of the ratchet 36 is prevented by the braking action of the brake lining 35 positioned between the plate 33 and the ratchet 36 except when the tooth 54 of the pawl 52 engages the ratchet as described above.

Counterclockwise rotation of this ratchet 36 is prevented by the pawl 58 as described above and as a result the eccentric 37 may only be rotated during the interval in the cycle of operation of this apparatus when the tooth 54 of the pawl 52 engages the ratchet 36.

Motion is transmitted to the upper end of the arm 47 so that this arm is swung about the center of the shaft 14 to which it is keyed. As a result rotary motion is transmitted to this shaft 14 through the arm 47 and the extent of this rotary motion is varied slightly as the distance between centers of the pivot 27 and the shaft 39 is varied through the rotation of the eccentric 37. Consequently, the swing of the ends of the rocker 60 is also varied so that the limits of the upward and downward motion of the traverse rods 12 is accordingly varied. The effect of this creeping traverse action is to more uniformly distribute the multiple layers of thread as the rayon packages are built up in the pots below the traverse bars 11. In this way the rayon thread is prevented from having successive convolutions lying parallel and adjacent to each other and plucking of adjacent convolutions of thread is prevented during the unwinding of the thread from the cake.

Adjustment of the position of the pivot 25 in the slot 26 may be made for the purpose of leveling the traverse rails 11 since movement of the pivot 25 in the slot 26 may be transmitted to the rocker 60. The bolt 23 supporting the roller 22 may also be adjusted in the slot 23a that is provided in the arm 24 so that the swing of the arm 24 may be varied simply by varying the position of the roller 22 with respect to the pivot 25. The effective lengths of the arms 28 and 30 may also be varied and this adjustment can also be used for the purpose of leveling the traverse rails 11.

The cam 56 may be adjusted so as to control theamount of rotation that may be imparted to the ratchet 36 during the downward swing of the arm 24. The pawl 52 is pro vided with a surface 55 that engages the cam 56 and this pawl is caused to rest on this cam by the force of gravity although it is, of course, obvious that a suitable spring may be provided between the plate 50 and the pawl for this purpose. When the cam 56 is adjusted as shown in Fig. 4 with its greatest radius between its center and the surface 55 of the pawl 52 this pawl is held from engaging the ratchet 36 for a greater interval of the cycle of operation than when the cam 56 is adjusted with its smallest radius in contact with the surface 55 of the pawl 52. Therefore with the adjustment shown in Fig. 4 the pawl 52 may advance the ratchet 36 only by one tooth whereas if this cam 56 is adjusted to have its smallest radius in contact with the surface 55 the pawl 52 may engage the ratchet 36 in time to advance this ratchet by 2 or 3 teeth during the cycle of operation. This adjustment provides a means for determining the most suitable displacement of the thread convolutions in the cakes.

Positive control of the operation of the eccentric 37 is obtained by this invention through the use of the brake lining 35 between the plate 33 and the ratchet 36. This is of utmost importance inasmuch as the plate 33 tends to function as a crank with respect to the eccentric 37 during the delivery of the power strokes to the arm 47 from the driven arm 24 through the interconnecting mechanism. Consequently it is essential that rotation of the ratchet and the eccentric 37 with respect to the plate 33 be prevented except when such rotation is desired, namely, during the interval in the cycle of operation when the pawl 52 operates to provide such rotation. This is accomplished by the spring mechanism that presses plate 33 against one side of the brake lining 35 and presses the ratchet 36 against the other side of this brake lining.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in detail it is, of course, obvious that modifications may be made therein and therefore I do not desire to limit this invention to the exact details described and illustrated except insofar as those details may be defined by the claims.

What I claim is:

1. Traverse mechanism for rayon pot spinning machines comprising a shaft driven by power, a cam on said driven shaft, an arm pivoted at one end and having a pin engaging said cam for swinging the free end of said arm, a second shaft below said driven shaft, an eccentric, means for supporting said eccentric on the free end of said arm, a lever having one end rotatably mounted on said eccentric and about its geometric center, a rocker connected to said second shaft, the other end of said lever being connected to said second shaft for rocking said rocker, rods for supporting traverse rails connected to the ends of said rocker, means for progressively rotating said eccentric to move in an orbit, the geometric center of said eccentric thereby gradually raising and lowering the terminal points of each stroke of the traverse, and a brake for said eccentric for preventing undesired rotation of said eccentric when power is being transmitted from said driven shaft to said traverse rods.

2. Traverse mechanism for rayon pot spinning machines comprising a shaft driven by power, a cam on said driven shaft, an arm pivoted at one end and having a pin engaging said cam for swinging'the free end of said arm, a second shaft below said driven shaft, an eccentric, a housing for said eccentric, means including a pivot on the free end of said arm for supporting said eccentric housing, a lever having one end rotatably mounted on said eccentric and about its geometric center, a rocker connected to said second shaft, the other end of said lever being connected to said second shaft for rocking said rocker, rods for supporting traverse rails connected to the ends of said rocker, a ratchet for progressively rotating said eccentric, the geometric center of said eccentric thereby gradually raising and lowering the terminal points of each stroke of the traverse, and a brake lining between said ratchet and said housing for preventing undesired rotation of said eccentric when power is being transmitted from said driven shaft to said traverse rods.

3. A traverse mechanism for rayon pot spinning machines comprising a frame, a shaft driven by power, a cam on said driven shaft, an arm pivotally attached to said frame at one end, a pin supported by said arm engaging said cam for swinging the free end of said arm, a rocker, a lever having one end fixedly attached to said rocker, traverse rods, means connected to said rocker for moving said traverse rods, an eccentric, a housing for said eccentric, a member pivoted on the free end of said arm for supporting said eccentric housing, means for adjusting the length of said member, a ratchet keyed to said eccentric, a pawl for rotating said ratchet, means for pivoting said pawl on the free end of said lever, means attached to said member for controlling said pawl to determine the extent of rotation of said ratchet by said pawl during each movement of said arm, a member attached adjacent to the free end of said lever, said last mentioned member extending through the geometric center of said eccentric for gradually raising and lowering the terminal points of each stroke of the traverse rods as said eccentric is rotated, and

a brake lining between a flat face of said eccentric housing and a flat side of said ratchet for preventing undesired rotation of said eccentric when power is being transmitted from said driven shaft to said traverse rods.

4. A traverse mechanism for rayon pot spinning machines comprising a frame, a shaft driven by power, a cam on said driven shaft, an arm pivotally attached to said frame at one end, a pin supported by said arm engaging said cam for swinging the free end of said arm, a rocker, a lever having one end fixedly attached to said rocker, traverse rods, means connected to said rocker for moving said traverse rods, an eccentric, a housing for said eccentric, a member pivoted on the free end of said arm for supporting said eccentric housing, a ratchet keyed to said eccentric, a pawl for rotating said ratchet during predetermined portions of the swing of said arm, a member attached adjacent to the free end of said lever, said lastmentioned member extending through the geometric center of said eccentric for gradually raising and lowering the terminal points of each stroke of the traverse rods as said eccentric is rotated, and a brake lining between a flat face of said eccentric housing and a fiat side of said ratchet for preventing undesired rotation of said eccentric when power is being transmitted from said driven shaft to said traverse rods.

5. A traverse mechanism for rayon pot spinning machines comprising a frame, a shaft driven by power, a. cam on said driven shaft, an arm pivotally attached to said frame at one end, a pin supported by said arm engaging said cam for swinging the free end of said arm, a rocker, a lever having one end fixedly attached to said rocker, traverse rods, means connected to said rocker for moving said traverse rods, an eccentric, a housing for said eccentric, a member pivoted on the free end of said arm for supporting said eccentric housing, a ratchet keyed to said eccentric, a pawl for rotating said ratchet during predetermined portions of the swing of said arm, a member attached adjacent to the free end of said lever, said last mentioned member extending through the geometric center of said eccentric thereby gradually raising and lowering the terminal points of each stroke of the traverse, a brake lining between a flat face of said eccentric housing and a fiat side of said ratchet, and a spring for pressing said fiat face and said fiat side against opposite sides of said brake lining for preventing undesired rotation of said eccentric when power is being transmitted from said driven shaft to said traverse rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,287,013 Abbott June 23, 1942 2,353,330 Haggerty et al July 11, 1944 2,385,479 Unde'rhill Sept. 25, 1945 2,492,412 Bauer Dec. 27, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,968 Great Britain Dec. 24, 1897 688,361 France May 12, 1930 

